Facebook misinformation gets six times more engagement than factual posts: Study

Social media is a handy tool to stay in touch with your loved ones, reading news and even acquiring new knowledge. But it is also the fastest way misinformation travels around the globe. Now it has come to light that misinformation on Facebook gets 6 times more attention than factual posts.

The study was carried out by New York University and Université Grenoble Alpes. The researchers looked at posts put out by 2500 Facebook pages between August 2020 to January 2021.

It was found in the study that posts from sources known for spreading misinformation got six times more likes, shares and interactions than the posts made by reputed news sources.

The study looked at misinformation from both ends of political spectrum. It found that misinformation at both ends, far-right and far-left, got more engagement than correct info. But interestingly, the study found that far-right put out more misinformation than far-left overall.

NYU researchers found that 40 per cent far-right sources and 10 per cent left-leaning sources promoted misinformation. They also said that misinformation accounted for 68 per cent of engagement with far-right sources while it was 36 per cent for far-left sources.

The study was first reported in Washington Post.